4 day Germany/Austria driving trip
 

After a 7 day river cruise, my husband & I and another couple will be overnighting on the train from Luxembourg to Munich, spend a full day and night in Munich and then drive up to see Neuschwanstein, ride the luge &/or cable car, see Fussen, Garmisch, Mittenwald, (2nights somewhere) then drive to Salzburg via Innsbruck for lunch and look around, (2 nights Salzburg) to see Eagles Nest, then back to Munich to fly back to USA.

My questions are:
1) where to stay for the first 2 nights - Fussen, Garmisch or Mittenwald. My thoughts were stay in Garmisch as there is more to do and is in between so if we didn't get to the luge ride on the first day, we can go back, rather than stop in Fussen and be all the way back there for the day we drive on to Salzburg.
2) Where would you suggest for a 4 star hotel at 3 star price in Salzburg?
3) Besides the Eagles Nest... what else would you say is a must see for Salzburg (the men are NOT into the Sound of Music...).
Thanks,
Roz

3) Visit the salt mine which is pretty close to Salzburg. Maybe not a must but something different, we did that a few years ago when we stayed in Salzburg for a few days and we liked it a lot. Also as a day trip from Salzburg you could visit Zel am See and the area. I found the area around Salzburg very beautiful.
Check the weather before going to Eagles Nest. It it's overcast leave it for another day. And go the Berghof ruin site, there is a path leading to it from the new holocaust museum (it's a 5 -10 mins walk but wasn't advertised when we went 3-4 years ago) Locals and the staff at the museum were reluctant to show us the way but it's very easy to reach.

Thanks,
No advice on hotels?

I never stayed overnight in Salzburg city. For booking hotels I always look at tripadvisor/expedia for good reviews and availability on whatever hotels I need, for example, I require parking, wi-fi, breakfast for my child, close to DT, etc... Then I contact and book the room with the hotel directly by email whenever that's possible. For more than 3-4 nights, consider renting an apt from vrbo, homeaway and the like.
If you're driving, at chalets around Salzburg accomodation is VERY cheap, half or full board, cheaper than hotels and great food and service, plus fresh air.... Same for Bavaria...

What time of year? Did I miss that?

If you look at your map, Fussen is on thecWestern edge of the area you described. Garmish and Mittenwald are about in the middle. Lots of sights between Fussen and Garmish,;, Oberammergau Linderhof, Ettal Monastary..

We prefer 2&3 star hotels so you may not like our picks. In Salzburg the Goldenen Ente and Weisses Kreuz are a couple of our favorites. The Alpen Rose in Mittenwald is a gasthaus that is dripping with charm. Near Fussen the Gutshof Zum Schluxen in Unter Pinswang, just on the Austrian side of the border is a charming farmhouse B&B with pet deer and other animals.

Garmish is a small town rather than a village. Unless you are taking the cable car up the Zugspitze you might find Garmish to be lower on the "must-see" list. Innsbruck hasn't been high on my list either. Nearby Hall is a better stop.

I say pick a hotel in Mittenwald. Charming town, and would be on the way to Innsbruck via rt E533/177.

-john

Hi,

I'd usually recommend Mittenwald also, but if Neuschwanstein, the Tegelberg cable car and luge ride are what you're interested in, I'd stay in Fuessen. With 2 nights, you're talking about 1.5 days in the area. Fuessen is a very nice old town, plus I would recommend touring Hohenschwangau, where "Mad" King Ludwig grew up, "next" to Neuschwanstein. Also, on the drive from Munich to Fuessen, I'd stop and see "Mad" King Ludwig's Linderhof Palace. I think the interior of Linderhof is much more spectacular than Neuschwanstein.

The drive from Fuessen to Innsbruck is less than an hour of extra driving to Innsbruck (via the Fern Pass) than starting in Garmisch.

Innsbruck has never been a "must see" city in my opinion. The mountains in the area are beautiful, but driving in/around Innsbruck is no fun. A sprawling city with a small old town center.

If the Eagles Nest is a priority, I'd recommend staying in Berchtesgaden instead of in Salzburg. With 2 nights for Salzburg, and driving from either Garmisch/Mittenwald or Fuessen via Innsbruck, would leave you with 1.5 days for Salzburg/Eagles Nest.


We mostly stay in B&B's and Pensions. The only hotel I can recommend is the Hotel zum Hechten in Fuessen. In Mittenwadl we stayed twice at the Pension Schwalbennestl and for visits to Salzburg we've stayed 3 times at the Pension Mayringerlehen. This (Mayringerlehen) is probably our favorite place to stay anywhere.

www.hotel-hechten.com
www.schwalbennestl.de
www.mayringerlehen.de

If interested, we have photo's of all these places and area's at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

Depending on when you need to be back in Munich or at the airport, "Mad" King Ludwig's amazing Herrenchiemsee Palace is right of the highway (at Prien/Stock) between Salzburg/Berchtesgaden and Munich.

Paul